Eye-catching designs start in go kart race

Daredevil pupils from Cundall Manor school provided entertainment for a large crowd of friends and family as the annual Cundall Go-Kart Race returned.

Nearly 500 spectators watched the 36 homemade Go-Karts provide high-octane thrills at the school near Ripon.

This year saw two brothers, Callum and Ben Throup claim spots on the podium following a morning of fun and heart-stoppingly mad-cap racing.

The school has held the event for over a decade and this year saw a range of innovative entries from its pupils including a modified bath-tub, a wheelie bin, a canoe and many more.

The winning entry came in the form of a three-wheel adaptation from Toby Wilkinson who tackled the hill route posting a blistering time of 8.72 secs in his vehicle, averaging 9.1 metres per second. The time knocked 2.57 seconds off last year’s winning entry, ‘The BFF Barrel.’

The winner faced tough competition from the Throup brothers, Ben and Callum, who posted superb times of 8.99 secs and 9.14 secs respectively.

Joint Head, John Sample, declared the winners and said: “The event is a great way to bring the Cundall community together and have some fun.”

“The fact that, each year, we always have so many entries is testament to how much the parents and children love the event.”

For the first time in the race’s history, electronic timing gates were used to increase the accuracy of the times thanks to the help of the school’s science department.

Marketing Manager, Paul Swalwell, added: “The event always attracts some fabulous designs and this year was no exception. Some of our pupils and their parents have been working on this for over half a year and it is wonderful to see their hard work pay off.”